A blog about a little town of France and its surroundings, the regional parc of the Avesnois; this blog is part of the CITY DAILY PHOTO blogs. I make this blog to present my region to the world.

samedi, novembre 11, 2006

247. The biggest forest of the North in autumn clothes.

I have spoken often to you of the biggest forest of the North (I mean with the North the department of the "Nord" in France). I have said it lays in the West of Pont-sur-Sambre and at the East of Le Quesnoy a town from where I have already show to you some pictures. There are several "first times" this week, a photo of Avesnes, but not one of the bests, only the road, and now I'm showing to you for the first time the forest of Mormal. We went often to the South of this forest with the bicycle as we were young married, because we did live southly from Le Quesnoy, and we went often there as we lived during a long time in Berlaimont, at the East of the forest. Then, we could go to feet to the forest. But here it is not far, but there is no foot path but a road to go to the forest so that we do not go so often there. As we went to the forest so that I shot the photos, there were many roads which I didn't remember very well especially in the South part of the forest where I was not since one or two decades. This forest is big and there is no many leisure places. The biggest leisure activities are the hunt (but I do not like it), the riding of horses (but we are too old) and the walking (something for us). But you cannot walk during the hunt time so that the most part of the forest is closed for walkers in autumn and winter, and only a little part westly of it is good for walkers only on Saturdays and Sundays and on feast days. If you go to the rest of the forest, you have to stay on the main roads (car roads), if not you can be shoted not by a photograph, but by a hunter. There are many hunt accidents in France. You can see the parts of the forest which are closed or not at the bareers like the one you see here on the right which is opened. The sign board on the left is an information table with a map of the forest. The highlights of the forest are : several inns, this photo is made at the crossroad in front of the "Auberge du Croisil" or "Inn of the Croisil". There are also the inns of the" Coucou", of the "Godelot". The three are gastronomic restaurants. And the "Auberge du Roi du Bois", or "Inn of the King of the Wood", is a center for the study of nature, animals and birds. Two other highlights are the Etang David (David's Pool), a little pool which has some banks for picnic , and the Arboretum de l'Etang David (David's Pool tree park). This one are in the south of the forest and we went often here as we lives on the other side of the forest.

The forest has its main part planted with oaks. Some other trees are also here, but they disappeared as after the first world war the forest which was destroyed on 2/3 of its dimension, was planted again with oaks. The forest of Mormal is forêt domaniale, it means king's heritage, it was a hunt forest of the Kings of France, since the time of Louis XIV. During the Revolution the king's forests went to the Stateof France and were called "Forêts Domaniales", because they belonged in the past to the king's domain. Only a few very small parts at the edge of the forest have other proprietaries.